Blast furnace



Sept. 7 1926. I J. KENNEE'BY BLAST- FURNACE Filed July 2, 1925 s sheebmsmat 1f Sept; 7, i926 1,598,776

- J. KENNEDY BLAST FURNACE Filed July 2; 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z] Z] Z4 15 8 6 22 17 m 22 l 15 Sepit. 9

J. KENNEDY BLAST FURNACE Filed July 2, 1925 3 Sheetgl-S haat 5 4 A S n H lxillllllllll l I19 INVENTOR Patented Sept. 7, 1926.

UNITED STATES JULIAN KENNEDY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

BLAST FURNACE.

Application filed July 2, 1925. Serial No. 41,048.

The present invention relates to blast furnaces and more particularly to means for aligning the bell operating mechanism with the bell.

In blast furnace structures due to the settling or the warping of the parts the niechanisn'i for operating the blast furnace bells is frequently thrown out of alignment with the bells and their hoppers, tending to throw the bells and particularly the big hell out of center. The bell operating mech anism is carried on the skip bridge. The skip bridge is mounted on the platform at the top of the blast furnace structure. In order to align the parts and particularly to realign the bell operating mechanism with the bells and hoppers I have provided for adjusting the skip bridge.

In the drawings Figure l is a side elevation of the top of a blast furnace structure in which the pres ent invention is embodied;

Figure 2 is a view taken partly in section and at right angles to that of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a detail view of the foot of one of the skip bridge legs and its mountmg;

Figures 4 and 5 are detail views of the casting forming the foot of the skip leg:

Figure 6 is a detail perspective view of the foot receiving socket; and

Figure 7 is a perspective view of one of the shims.

In the drawings is illustrated the upper part of the usual blast furnace structure comprising the top of the furnace 1, the platform 2, the skip bridge 3, the big hell 4 and its hopper 5, the little bell 6 and its hopper 7, the big bell rod 8, the little bell rod 9, and the mechanism 10 for operating the bell rods. In the blast furnace structure illustrated in the drawings the big bell is operated by a hydraulic cylinder 11. In building the blast furnace the bell operating mechanism is centered over the bell hoppers. Since the bell hoppers are hung by the bell rods it can be seen that if the upper part of the furnace is thrown out of'level or if the skip bridge is moved to one side, that the bells will not be centered with respect to their hoppers and uneven distribution of the charge in the furnace and the bending and binding of the bell rods, and particularly the big bell rod, may result. For example, the track 12 for the skip is supported at its upper end on the skip bridge and on its own foundation at its lower end. In case of relative settling of the foundations of the blast furnace and the skip crack, th skip bridge will be pushed to one side as viewed in Figure 1, resulting in throwing the bell operating mechanism out of alignment with the bell hoppers. Also due to the warping of the parts, the skip bridge may be thrown out of level and thus destroy the correct alignment of the bells, their hoppers and rods and operating mechanism.

In order to overcome such difficulties I have mounted the skip bridge 3 so that it may be adjusted to bring the bell operating mechanism into alignment with the bells and bell hoppers. For this purpose I provide adjustable mountings for the feet of the legs 13 of the skip bridge 3. One of the feet is shown in detail in Figure 3 and comprises a foot casting 1 1 to which the leg structure is riveted. The bottom of the foot casting 1 1 is received in a socket 15 which is bolted or riveted to the platform 2. The

bottom of the foot 14: is held against lateral movement by the socket 15. Holes .16 and 17 are provided in the foot llsand the bottom of the socket piece 15 to hold pins for centering the foot in the socket if'desired.

The bottom of the foot 14 rests against the floor of the socket 15 or upon shims 18 which are placed in the socket 15. Holes 19 are provided for introducing or taking out the shims and other holes 20 are provided through the opposite wall of the socket for a rod to push out the shims.

The foot casting 14 has a laterally project- .ing arm 21 which is engaged by a ack 22 of any suitable kind. In the drawings a hydraulic jack is shown. The jack 22 is sup ported on the platform 2.

In case the skip bridge is to be bodily raised or lowered. as for example, to correct for a tilting due to a relative settling of the blast furnace and the skip track foundation. or if the skip bridge is to leveled by being tilted sidewise, the jacks 22 are operated to raise the feet of the skip bridge legs. Then the shims are introduced or removed from the foot sockets 15 and afterwards the jacks are released, allowing the feet of the skip legs to rest upon the shims in the foot receiving sockets.

The adjustment provided for the feet of the skip bridge allows the bridge to be bodily raised or allows one foot to be raised more than the other. i This provides for the necessary realignment of the bells, their operating mechanism and rods and the hopers. a a

Vhile I have specifically illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of my invention it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to'its illustrated embodiment but may be otherwise embodied in blast furnace structures within the scope of the following claims.

I claim i 1. The combinationwith a blast furnace structure having a charging bell and its hopper and bell operating, mechanism, of adjustable means for aligning the bell charging mechanism with the bell and its hopper.

2. The combination with a blast furnace structure having a bell and its hopper, bell operating mechanism and a skip bridge supporting the bell operating mechanism, of means foradjustably aligning the bell operating mechanism withthebell and hopper,

and means for holding comprising means for shifting the position of the skip bridge. 1

3. The combination with a blast furnace structure having a supporting platform and a skip bridge having legs supported by the platform, of means for relatively adjusting the legs and platform.

4. The combination with a blast furnace having a platform and a skip bridge having, legs with feet carried by the platform, of jacks for raising the feet from'the platform,

the feet in their adjusted positions.

5. The combination with a blast furnace having a platform and a'skip bridge having legs with feet carried by the platform, of jacks for raising the feet from the platform, andmeans forholdingthe feet in adjusted position, comprising feetre'ceiving sockets and shims held in the sockets beneath the feet. y

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set myhand;

1 JULIAN KENNEDY. 

